Liverpool's pressure did not subside after half-time and Firmino completed his treble from the spot 25 minutes from time, rounding off a miserable day for the Gunners and increasing the heat on Manchester City ahead of their meeting with Southampton on Sunday.
Roberto Firmino was at his ruthless best as he scored his first Premier League hat-trick to inspire a 5-1 demolition of Arsenal at Anfield and put Liverpool nine points clear at the summit after Tottenham's defeat to Wolves.
The visit of Unai Emery's men was seen as a potentially troublesome fixture, but the Reds made light work of them, with all of their revered front three finding the net in a devastating performance.
A chaotic five-minute spell in the first half saw Ainsley Maitland-Niles put Arsenal ahead, before a quickfire Firmino brace turned the score around. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah ensured a rampant Liverpool went into the break 4-1 up.
The visit of Unai Emery's men was seen as a potentially troublesome fixture, but the Reds made light work of them, with all of their revered front three finding the net in a devastating performance.
A chaotic five-minute spell in the first half saw Ainsley Maitland-Niles put Arsenal ahead, before a quickfire Firmino brace turned the score around. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah ensured a rampant Liverpool went into the break 4-1 up.
29/12/2018 Results
Premier League
Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal
Brighton 1 - 0 Everton
Fulham 1 - 0 Huddersfield
Leicester 0 - 1 Cardiff
Watford 1- 1 Newcastle
Watford 1- 1 Newcastle
Tottenham 1 - 3 Wolves
Serie A
Juventus 2- 1 Sampdoria
Chievo 1- 0 Frosinone
Empoli 0 - 1 Inter
Genoa 0 - 0 Fiorentina
Lazio 1 - 1 Torino
Parma 0 - 2 Roma
Sassuolo 2 - 6 Atalanta
Udinese 2 - 0 Cagliari
Napoli 3-2 Bologna
AC Milan 2-1 SPAL
Juventus 2- 1 Sampdoria
Chievo 1- 0 Frosinone
Empoli 0 - 1 Inter
Genoa 0 - 0 Fiorentina
Lazio 1 - 1 Torino
Parma 0 - 2 Roma
Sassuolo 2 - 6 Atalanta
Udinese 2 - 0 Cagliari
Napoli 3-2 Bologna
AC Milan 2-1 SPAL
